Heart Shed
by darcangell23
Summary: Four years after Emma and them have also graduated from Degrassi, is story reflects on different couples thoughts and feelings about what they should have done. What are they all thinking and where do the stand?
1. Chapter 1

_**Heart Shed**_

**Chapter One**

**Marco's POV**

So begins the story of my new life, a life without Dylan. I know, I know, I've tried this before and it didn't work, but this time, I'm certain, I can survive without Dylan. I've moved out of his house and I have an apartment of my own. Okay, so it's not exactly my own seeing as I share it with Ellie, my best friend ever, but at least it's a home that's not with my family and that's not with Dylan. I need this, it will be good for me, especially after Dylan went and broke my heart again, even worse than he did before. However, unlike before, I will not let him get the chance to come back into my life. Ellie and I have taken an apartment, can you believe this, in New York City! That's right, we live in the United States now, both of us fresh out of college and in the working world. Ellie got a job as a reporter for the New York Chronicle and me, well I'm not really sure you want to know that. Anyway, you're probably wondering how I planned on making sure Dylan doesn't get the chance to come back into my life once again. Well, that's simple, he has no idea that Ellie and I now live in New York; in fact he has no idea where I am at all. All he knows is that while he was off doing his hockey thing, I packed up all my stuff and left with not so much as a good-bye note. I was so hurt with what he had done I didn't tell him anything, not even good-bye.

Okay, so now you're probably wondering how Ellie and I ended up living together in New York, one of the most expensive places in the US. Well, allow me to tell you. You see, one night, before Dylan broke my heart for the billionth time, Ellie came home with the exciting news that she had gotten a job with a major paper in New York City. I was happy for her because she is my best friend but I was also sad because she would be moving so far away from me and it wouldn't be like it always was. Sure, I would be able to call her on the phone and write letters and maybe even see her once in a while but it wouldn't be the same. Then, just a day before Ellie was supposed to leave for New York, I walked in on Dylan, in our bed, with another guy, and not just any other guy, a guy I remembered well from my last year at Degrassi; it was Tim. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I stormed out of the house and didn't come home all night, ignoring my phone everytime it rang and I saw that it was Dylan. Ellie hadn't been at home at the time and so I called her as soon as I was out the front door; she agreed to meet me at The Dot where we had some coffee and I told her what had happened. That's when she asked if I wanted to move with her to New York. I told her I couldn't do that because I would be invading on her life and she just said that I wouldn't and that I was her best friend and if it helped, she was willing to do it, as long as I agreed to pay half the rent and utilities. So, after a few moments of thinking, I told her that I would like that very much. So now, here we are, in a high class, two bedroom, penthouse apartment in New York City the big apple. I hate to brag and all but thanks to Ellie's offer, my life has never been better and I gotta remember to repay her for it someday.

"Marco? Earth to Marco! Come in Marco!" I snapped out of my daze and back into reality. Ellie and I were sitting at a cafe in the middle of Times Square. We had been discussing her latest project for the paper and I guess I just kind of drifted off into thought about what Dylan had done and why we were here for about the millionth time since it happened. But that was almost eight months ago now and I knew I shouldn't still be thinking about it but I couldn't help it. Regardless of all that he had put me through, I still cared about Dylan but I knew I was definitely ready to move on. I shook my head and looked back at Ellie.

"Sorry Ellie, what were you saying?" She sighed and rolled her eyes but she wore a smile on her face.

"Marco, are you still thinking about the incident with Dylan and Tim?" she asked. I pretended not to hear her and looked down at my hands, thinking suddenly to myself that they were awfully dirty. "Marco, don't try to ignore the question."

"I'm sorry Ellie, I know I said I was ready to move on and I am but it still hurts. I can't believe Dylan would do that again, let alone with Tim of all people."

"You don't have to apologize Marco, I know this is hard on you but I also know that you are strong and I believe that you can get over this." She put some money on the table and got up, grabbing her bag from where it sat on the ground by her chair. I followed her and got up so fast I knocked my chair over. Ellie laughed as she swung her bag over her shoulder. "Come on, I have the day off today, so let's go have some fun." I looked at her with a confused expression. "Don't give me that look. I know this is not like me but I'm going to take you shopping and buy you anything you want. That should cheer you up. After all, you do love shopping, don't you?" A wide smile spread across my face and I draped my arm around her.

"That's what I love about you Ellie, you always know how to make my day." She smiled and the two of us set off together for one of the biggest shopping malls in all of New York City. Okay, it wasn't exactly a shopping mall, it was only the famous, Macy's department store that they have the Thanksgiving Day parade at every year but as big as it is, it might as well be a mall.

**Ellie's POV**

And so we entered Macy's department store for what seemed like the hundredth time since we had been in New York. I couldn't believe Marco and I had been living here for almost eight months now, that's three quarters of a year. Of course by now, everything around us had become quite familiar and it was getting easier and easier every day to find our way around. I was starting to feel like this was home and the best thing about it, Marco was here with me. I would never tell him this, but secretly, I'm glad Dylan hurt him again, I don't think I ever would've been able to do this on my own. If I had tried, I probably would've wound up moving back to Canada and taking a job at a small paper there, where life could never be more normal and boring. Living in New York City had been a blast and it was so easy to deal with because of Marco, he had always been my reason for going through with anything; he always gave me that extra push that I needed, and he had been there when things blew over with Jesse. That had really put me in a spin, first Craig, who was and perhaps still is, the only person I ever really loved, and then Jesse who I found out in the end, was just using me. God, could my relationships get any worse? Speaking of relationships, neither me or Marco had tried to find one since we had moved here. I decided it was best to devote my time to my job and Marco just wasn't ready to make dating part of his life again yet. I guess now, nearly eight months later, he's still not ready and my work is just too important to me to let a boyfriend take any of my time.

"Ellie?" Marco asked suddenly. I looked up at him. "I'm gonna go up to the fifth floor to look at something for a bit, do you mind?" Although I was a little suspicious about what he was doing, I shook my head. "Thanks, I'll call you when I'm ready to join up again." I nodded and watched him head off for the elevator. I had known Marco for several years now and he was still full of surprises. Seeing as I was now on my own, I went of to go look at some curtains for the living room windows. I wasn't much for decorating but I was tired of seeing how plain they looked all the time so I finally decided to do something about it. Besides, Marco was good with decorating, I'm sure he would be very happy to finally have some curtains for that window.

I was looking at some silk curtains that were a deep royal blue color when I heard a sudden voice from behind me. "Ellie?" it said, "Is that really you?" I spun around to see who had spoken and my mouth dropped open. There he was, Craig Manning, the first man who had ever held my heart. I had no idea what he was doing in New York. Although he looked quite a bit different, his hair had grown out, down to his shoulders, and he had a slight goatee, I had no trouble recognizing those eyes of his and I knew immediately who he was.

"Craig," I said in a laughlike voice, "What are you doing here?"

"The band and I are on a US tour. We have some time now to do a little sight-seeing. I should ask the same thing of you. I never expected to see you in New York, especially not after you told me you didn't want to have anything to do with me again. I don't blame you, I got pretty heavy into that whole cocaine business, I'm a really sorry but I'm a clean man now Ellie, I really am."

"I'm sure you are Craig but it's not going to change anything between you and me. It's over and I have moved on. It's time you did too." I turned and started to walk away but then stopped and looked at him again. "As to what I'm doing in New York, I live here now. I got a job with the Chronicle." Without another word, I turned on my heel and walked off again, leaving him staring after me.

"Ellie!" he called, "Ellie, wait!" I didn't listen, I just kept on walking. I knew he was running after me so I was relieved when I heard my cell phone ring. I picked it up and was grateful to have someone else to talk to.

"Hello?"

"Ellie, where are you? I'm ready to join back up?"

"I'm in the linen department, did you find what you were looking for Marco?"

**Craig's POV**

Had Ellie just said "Marco"? Was Marco really here in New York with her? I couldn't even believe that Ellie was in New York. On top of that, I couldn't believe that she was actually living here! It had been a few years, I don't know how many, I lost count, since we had last seen each other and I thought surely she would at least want to be friends but after all this time, she was still angry at me for the whole cocaine thing and she blew me off just as easily as if I had been a fly on her shoulder. I didn't move toward her anymore, I just stood there and watched. She was now standing by the elevator, waiting with her arms folded across her chest. Sure enough, the elevator opened and Marco Del Rossi stepped out of it. He threw his arm around her as I remember he so often did and the two of them set off together, discussing something, I didn't know what. However, I was almost certain she was telling him about running into me and he was probably very surprised. I don't blame him, I mean, what are the chances of you running into the biggest love of your life in the biggest department store in New York after you hadn't seen each other in who knows how many years.

The worse thing about the whole thing was not the fact that she had blown me off again, but rather the fact that she looked at me with a disgusted look on her face and I got the impression that she was repulsed by my appearance. I mean, okay, so I'm not exactly all that clean cut anymore but I don't do drugs. . .anymore, and I don't drink. In fact, I don't do anything wrong now. It's just that I am so busy with my band and the tour that I've hardly had time to take care of myself lately. So what, my hair is long and I have a goatee, not to mention my clothes aren't exactly clean but isn't it what's on the inside that matters? I mean, come on now, what do I have to do to get Ellie to forgive me? Was she really done with me? Did I really just have to move on? I didn't know but one thing was clear, I wasn't about to give up on Ellie that easily, not at all.

**Marco's POV**

So, Ellie had run into Craig, that was definitely the last thing I had expected to happen while we were living in New York. The funny thing was, she didn't seem bothered by it and it was that simple fact that told me that she was ready to leave Craig behind and Jesse too for that matter, and move on, find someone new and start over again. It was then I realized that it was time for me to do that too. After all, it had been almost eight months since I had left Dylan and he hadn't once tried to come looking for me. He couldn't call me either because I had changed my cell phone number, giving the new number only to those I thought were important so he had no way to get ahold of me. There was always e-mail but strangely enough, he hadn't bothered to try that. Hmmm, maybe it wasn't so strange, he was a blonde after all. Dylan had never been very bright in my mind but that was one of the reasons why I loved him so much, it gave me a reason to help him out. Sure he was smart when it came to school but real life, always seemed to have him confused. I may be ready to move on now but I still wonder how he's doing and where his life has taken him. As much as I hate him for what he had done, I still hope he's okay.

"What are you going to do about Craig?" I asked Ellie after several moments of silence.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do about Craig, absolutely nothing." I raised my eyebrows.

"You sure about that now?" She laughed.

"Oh Marco, as much as I still like Craig, as much as I still love him, I'm ready to leave my high school sweetheart behind and find my true love." It was my turn to laugh. I had never heard Ellie talk so ridiculously before. "No, I'm just kidding but I am ready to move on from Craig and see what other fish there are in the sea. Hey, we're in New York and this is definitely a hot spot! I bet both of us can easily find men here, there are so many people around."

"Gee thanks Ellie but I'm still not sure I'm ready to move on yet. My heart is still trying to mend itself from what Dylan did." Ellie crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at me.

"That's just the point Marco, your heart is still trying to mend because you won't let it. Look, I'll make you a deal. You go out on one date, just one and if you don't find that it makes you happy to be out there trying to find someone who will take your heart and treat it with all the tenderness it deserves, than I won't pester you about anymore and I'll let you do things on your own time. Do we have a deal?" I looked at her for a moment and something in my mind said to give it a try.

"Well, hey, why not, it could never hurt to try, right?" I responded. "Deal.""Good. We can start by finding you something eyecatching to wear tonight. We're going to go out for a night on the town and if you want to catch a guy's eye, you have to be able to take their breath away. Come on, I'm going to make sure you're so breath-taking, you won't even be able to catch your own breath at the sight of your appearance." Although I trusted Ellie with everything I had, I couldn't help but to feel nervous about what she planned on doing. Ellie wasn't exactly the go to girl for fashion tips, that was more Paige's thing. Oh Paige, good old Paige, I wondered what she was up to right at that very moment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Paige's POV**

There was only one thing on my mind right now and believe or not that thing, or rather person I should say was Alex. That's right, Alex, not Spinner or any other guy for that matter, but the only girl I had ever been with and I knew I had broken her heart. Although my life is good and I am a big name where I live, and I have a great boyfriend, I still can't help thinking about Alex and how much I had hurt her by taking control over her and the whole relationship. I really feel bad about that now and to say the truth, I want her back, she's all I really want but there is no way I can tell my boyfriend that. I wonder what Hazel is doing now, how her life is going, and if she has gotten married or anything. Hazel may have been my best friend but we lost touch some years ago, not long after I left our home for my choice school. I brought up Hazel because I know I could tell her about my feelings and she'd help me figure out what to do.

So now, here I lie, in the warm California sun, thinking, just thinking, about Alex. You know, it's funny living so far away from where I grew up but I love it and I wouldn't change my life now for the world. The only thing is, I wish Alex was a part of it. Not only that, I miss all my friends, I'm serious, and I hate having no idea what anyone else is up to and where they all are now. I know for the most part, everyone who attended Degrassi when I did has probably moved on to college at least and I hope they have all succeeded in their endeavors but none of them mean as much to me as all my friends and the people I knew. I wonder how things are going for Marco and Dylan. I haven't heard from my brother in about eight months, which is strange. He doesn't answer the phone when I try to call him and when I leave a message, he doesn't return my phone calls. He's acting strange, something is definitely up with my brother and I intend to get to the bottom of it. I wonder if maybe he did something to hurt Marco again. I hope not, I will be very angry with him. In fact, I think I'll call him now, and this time, I won't give up until he answers his phone because this is just ridiculous!

"Hello?" My eyes went wide. Imagine my surprise that for once in his life, he actually answered.

"Dylan! It's about time! I've been trying to call you for about eight months! What the devil is going on, hon?! Why won't you return my phone calls?!" I heard him sigh on the other end of the line.

"Sorry Paige. I've just been really busy with my hockey and stuff and well. . .it's kind of hard for me to explain but can I ask you something?"

"Sure hon, anything, you're my brother." He sighed again and there was a long pause before he spoke once more.

"Paige, you haven't heard from Marco by any chance, have you?" I became very confused. What on earth was my brother talking about? Marco was there with him, at least I thought that was where he was. Something was definitely up.

"No, I thought he was with you. Dylan, what happened? Is everything alright? What did you do now?" I heard him sigh for the third time and there was a noise that made me believe that perhaps he was scratching the back of his head.

"It's bad sis, real bad."

**Dylan's POV**

"Where do I begin?" I asked into the phone, with my hand still on the back of my head. I didn't have the slightest idea how I was going to tell her that I had cheated and Marco again and again, he had caught me but this time, he had left, without giving any notice of where he was going. I had tried to get a hold of Ellie to see if she knew but for some reason, her cell phone was disconnected. After several day to day attempts I had finally decided that she, like Marco, had gotten her number changed.

"That's easy," my sister responded. "You start from the beginning." I sighed for perhaps the fourth time since I had been on the phone with her. I knew that it was probably starting to irritate her but I didn't know what else to do to calm myself. "Okay Dylan, that's enough. Just take a few deep breaths and tell me what happened." Although I knew she couldn't see me, I nodded and did what she said. After I was sure that I was calm enough, I started in on the story.

"Well, it's really not all that much to tell. Basically, well, I. . ."

"You what Dylan?"

"I. . .I cheated on Marco again." I could hear the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line as my sister gasped. I knew she couldn't believe that I would do such a thing after all I had gone through to get Marco back the first time. "And. . .he caught me again." There was silence. I knew she was listening but she wouldn't say anything so I knew I had to go on. "This time, it was worse. It was in our bed and it was with the last person I knew Marco would ever believe would do such a thing like that, especially with me."

"Who was it Dylan?" Paige asked me in a quiet voice.

"It was Tim." There was another sharp intake of breath as my sister gasped yet again.

"Tim? The guy Marco dated when he thought he was ready to move on from you the first time?"

"Yes," I confirmed.

"Oh Dylan, how could you? You know how sensitive Marco is." I knew she was disappointed in me.

"I know but I was drunk and he was there and he said he wanted to get back at Marco for using him to get back at me and I said okay and I took him back to the house and it just sort of happened. Marco walked in on us. I have no idea why he had come into our room in the first place because whatever it was, he never did it. He left the room and the house immediately, I could hear him slam the front door for all the way upstairs. He didn't come home all night and the next day, I had to head off for hockey practice so I left him a message telling him where I was going and to call me as soon as he could but he never did. Then, when I came home, I found that all his stuff was gone and there was no sign of where he had gone but I was sure I knew why he had left."

"Well, I know you're not going to like this but I think you deserve what you got and even if I did know where Marco was, I wouldn't tell you because I don't want you to ruin his life anymore than you already have." I sighed yet again.

"I figured you'd say something like that. Please save the lecturing Paige, I feel bad enough, I don't need a talking to from my little sister. I know what I did was wrong and there's no way to change it but I wish I could and I wish i could just tell Marco how sorry I am."

"Even if you know he won't forgive you this time?" she asked.

"Even if I know he won't forgive me this time," I confirmed.

**Alex's POV**

I have no idea what in the world I think I'm doing, going to California to confront Paige. I know she was a horrible girlfriend when we dated but the truth is, she was the best thing I ever had and that included Jay. Jay was a nightmare. I'd never known anyone who cared about cheating on his girlfriend and screwing around so much in my life. Well, Jay is getting his own, he's in prison now and he'll be there for quite some time. Jay had never learned to clean up his act, he just got worse and worse until finally, he straight up robbed a store and killed three innocent people in the process. That's why he's in prison and I heard he got the life sentence with no possibility of parole. That's okay but personally, I think he should've gotten the death penalty. I mean, come on, he killed three people, not one, not two, but _three_; he should get more than just life in prison for that, wouldn't you agree? I don't know, the law these days.

Anyway, like I said, I'm on my way to California to confront Paige. Not long ago, I realized something, regardless of how she treated me, I loved her, and I still do. I wonder what she'll think when I show up on her doorstep. She'll probably freak out and send me away like a beggar on the corner. Oh well, it doesn't matter, long as I get to see her and long as I know the truth about what is to become of us. As long as I get that much out of it, I can tolerate whatever reaction she has when I show up.

Hey, who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and she'll accept me and ask me in for a chat or something. Now I know I wasn't all that great a person in high school but honestly, I'm much better now than I was then. I've cleaned up my act a lot since than, I've grown up a lot too. So, although when I think of me now, I don't think Paige will be able to turn me away, I still won't be surprised if she does. I mean, all these years of not talking and all of a sudden I show up on her doorstep and suddenly want to be with her again? Yeah, come on, it's really going to be easy for her to not turn me away and just accept all of this. For that to happen, there would have to be a miracle, something like her wanting to be with me again too after all these years or something.

"Yeah, that'll happen. Get a hold of yourself Alex, you're thinking too much into the fantasy world of what you wish would happen and you're not concentrating enough on reality. Then again, you've always been that way, no matter how straight your act is now."

"I'm sorry miss, did you say something?" I jumped when the passenger on the plane next to me spoke. I turned to look at him.

"Oh sorry, I was just thinking to myself. Didn't realize I was thinking out loud." The man smiled politely but I could tell he thought I was nuts. He scooted over a little in his seat, perhaps trying to put as much distance between me and himself as he could without having to change seats. I turned and stared back out the window. This was going to be a long flight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Emma's POV**

I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall as I waited for Manny to show up. I'd never seen her so late before but I didn't blame her, on top of being in our senior year of college Manny was also getting work in as the actress she wanted to be. She was doing it so that she could make money to pay for her college tuition because although her father had been more softer towards what she wanted to do, he had refused to pay her way through college if she chose to persue it so now she didn't have any other choice but to work to pay off her tuition.

"Manny, come on, we're going to be late for English," I said to myself, looking at my watch. Although he had refused to pay her college tuition if she chose to persue acting, Manny's father had agreed to let her do it if she promised him she would take academics as well and that was why Manny and I had the same English class. I sighed again as I gently banged my head against the wall.

"Emma!" someone called and I looked to see Manny running towards me.

"Finally," I said under my breath. "Manny, what took you so long? I've never seen you this late before?" I asked when she had caught up to me. She looked at me for a moment and then dropped her head.

"Well, I kind of got into an argument with my agent," she responded quietly as we started walking. I stopped and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Good grief Manny, you didn't lose your job did you?" She shook her head.

"No, the dispute is settled but I'm not all that happy about it." We started walking again and I looked at her, pressing her with my eyes to go on. "Emma, I've been asked to do something that's not such a good idea." I didn't say anything but let her go on. "They want me to do a sex raided film." My eyes got really wide and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They wanted Manny to perform in a phornography? "They said I need to stop doing all the other stuff because I have the perfection for a phorn star. They won't give me any other kind of work anymore. My agent and I argued about it and I told him that I didn't want to subject my body to such an uncomfortable field of film. I told him that's not who I am and I had a terrible experience once when I got drunk in high school that was something I didn't want to happen again and especially not when I'm sober. And you know what my agent said?" I shook my head and looked at her with an expression of deep concern. "He said that if I didn't do it, I would lose my position and I would lose him." There were tears streaming down her face now and I put a hand on her shoulder again. "When he said that, I had no choice but to agree to do it. I can't afford to lose my job Emma, I wouldn't have enough money to pay for college and then I'd have to drop out. I don't want to drop out, I want to graduate with you and go on to bigger and better things."

"Maybe you should talk to someone about this, Manny."

"I am Em, you." I shook my head.

"I mean someone who can help you. You need to tell someone who has authority over this kind of thing because they might be able to put a stop to it. Manny, I can't do that, you know I can't." She nodded, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "You need to tell someone because this isn't right and nor is it fair. Your agent can't threaten to fire you just because you disagree to do some sleezy sex movie. He's pushing you to the limit and I'm not sure but I think he can lose his license as an agent for that."

"I don't know if I can tell anyone else Em."

"Manny you have to. You can't just keep letting him push you around like this. If you do, he's gonna see it as okay and then one day you might find yourself in a whole lot of trouble." We had reached the classroom and had stopped just outside the door. "Manny, if you keep letting him do this to you, he's gonna start to think that he has total control over what you do and then he might start threatening your job to get you to do other things you really don't want to, like sleep with him for example." Manny's eyes got really wide. "I'm serious Manny. This is the kind of thing that leads to people getting raped and not doing anything about it. Do you want to be one of those people Manny?" She shook her head. "I didn't think so and I don't want you to either. That's why you have to put a stop to this before it gets too out of hand." She nodded. "Come on, let's go inside." I put a hand on her back and guided her into the classroom.

**Sean's POV**

I pulled up outside the college grounds and just sat there for a moment looking up at the school. I hadn't been able to get into college seeing as I hadn't finished high school and I wanted to turn my life around really bad but getting my high school diploma was proving harder than I thought. Nobody seemed to want to give me a chance and I was running out of options. So now, here I was, at the college I knew Emma was attending because I intended to ask her if her parents still lived in the same house. I wanted to go talk to Mr. Simpson to see if he had any ideas. I know, I know, I could've just gone to the house to see for myself but, okay, I'll admit it, I'm using this opportunity as an excuse to see Emma. I don't hardly get to see her anymore because she's so busy with school and not that close either. I can't stand being away from her. I love Emma with all my heart and I know she's the girl for me and she loves me too. I mean, just look at all we've been through together over the years. Our relationship has suffered some pretty difficult blows but we got through and now we're better than we ever have been. I can't remember a time in my life when I'd ever been this happy before.

After sitting and staring up at the school for several minutes, I finally got out of the car and headed into the main building in an attempt to find the office. Luckily for me, it wasn't that difficult, seeing as it was only just down the hall from where I had entered the building. I paused for a moment to take in a few breaths before slowly walking towards the office, pushing open the door, and heading inside. The secretary at the front desk looked up and raised her eyebrows at me suspiciously.

"May I help you, young man?" she asked in a confused voice. I nodded and walked up to the desk.

"Yes, I certainly hope so," I replied as politely as I could. She didn't say anything but merely looked at me so I cleared my throat and went on. "I need to speak to Miss. Emma Nelson, it's urgent." She looked at me for a moment before turning to her computer and looking up Emma to see where she might be at the time being. After a few moments, she turned back to face me.

"Miss. Nelson is in an English class right now, are you sure it's absolutely necessary that you speak to her now?"

"Oh yes ma'am, right away, it's urgent. I promise, it won't take long. There's just something important I need to ask her is all." She raised her eyebrows again.

"You're not going to propose to her, are you?" My eyes got wide and I stumbled backwards a few steps. Where on earth had she gotten the idea that I wanted to pull Emma out of class to propose to her? I mean I know I love Emma and all but the thought of marriage had never even crossed my mind yet.

"Oh no ma'am, nothing like that," I said hastily, waving my hands frantically back and forth in front of me.

"Good because if you were I could tell you that I think there are many much nicer ways to propose to a girl." I laughed nervously. She sighed. "Very well than, if you must, I will put a call in to her English class and have her sent to the office."

"Thank you."

"Mm-hm," was all she said as she picked up the phone. A minute later, she put it down and turned back to me. "She should be here in a few minutes, please," she indicated the chairs by the door, "Have a seat." I nodded, took a deep breath, and sat down to wait.

**Manny's POV**

I stared down at the book in my hands, unable to concentrate on the assignment as I was still thinking about the project my agent had given me and his threat to fire me if I didn't go through with it. It was at that moment that the phone in the room rang and the professor got up to answer it with a confused expression on her face. I glanced at Emma who hadn't seemed to even so much as glance up from her book and then looked back down at my own, hoping that I would be able to get at least a little reading in that day. After another moment of trying to read, I sighed and put the book down on my desk thinking that it was completely hopeless. Em had said I should tell someone and she meant someone other than her but I didn't know how I was going to do that and who that someone should be. I knew Em would be behind me one hundred percent but other than her, I had practically nothing to count on.

"Miss. Nelson," the professor said suddenly and both of us looked up at her. I could tell that Emma had a confused expression on her face out of the corner of my eye. "That was the secretary in the main office. She says there's a young man there who would like to see you." Emma seemed to think for a minute.

"Oh my gosh, Sean!" she said, dropping her book back into her bag. She got up to go but I grabbed her by the arm.

"Em, Sean?" I asked, puzzled. "What would he be doing here?"

"No idea Manny but I'll tell you later, after class." I nodded and watched her walk down the stairs and leave the classroom.

"Miss. Santos, is something wrong?" the professor asked me so suddenly that I jumped in my seat. I looked round at her and shook my head furiously. "Are you sure? You don't seem quite up to par today. Is something bothering you?"

"No Professor Horam, nothing is bothering me," I lied, "I just didn't get enough sleep last night is all." She looked unconvinced but nodded all the same.

"I see. Why don't you take the rest of the class period off to get some rest." I got up, grabbed my bag, and started down the stairs but when I reached the door she stopped me. "And Miss. Santos?" I turned to face her. "If something is bothering you, I want you to know that you can talk to me about it if you need to. I want you to also take some time to clear your head, we do have finals coming up and I need you to be in tiptop shape. You can't be off during the final, Miss. Santos because if you are, you will fail the final and if you don't getting a passing grade, you will not be able to graduate. You understand that don't you?" I nodded. "Good, go and get some rest dear." I walked out of the class and slumped against the wall, thinking that I would just wait here in the hall for Emma to come back, wondering what on earth Sean could want. I was sure I would find out soon and in the mean time, my head was unfortunately free to think about what was going on between me and my agent.

**Emma's POV**

I entered the main office with a confused look on my face and sure enough, there was Sean, sitting in one of the chairs by the door reading one of the out-dated magazines and looking a bit nervous. He looked up at me when I entered, hastily put down the magazine, and stood up.

"Emma," he said quietly. I smiled softly and he pulled me into a hug. "Um, let's just go outside for a moment, I need to talk to you." I nodded. The secretary looked at us suspiciously as Sean took my hand and began leading me out of the office and out of the building. When we were safely outside, I crossed my arms over my chest and turned to face him.

"Sean, what's this all about?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"What, you're not happy to see me?" he replied. I laughed and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Of course I'm happy to see you but I don't see what was so important you had to come while I was in class." Sean sighed and looked down at the ground momentarily. "Sean," I said, unfolding my arms and putting a hand on his shoulder, "What is it? What's going on? Did something happen?" He shook his head.

"No Emma, it's nothing like that. It's just that. . .well, I'm kind of embarrassed to talk about it." His face was slightly pink and he was started to flush into his ears, making them pink as well. I had never seen Sean embarrassed before and to be honest, I had to admit that I found it kind of cute. He sighed and looked back down at the ground again. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he looked back up at me and cleared his throat. "I need to know if your parents still live in the same house they lived in when you were still at Degrassi." I smiled at him and broke out laughing. Sean looked down at the ground for a third time and without looking back up, he added, "I need to talk to your stepdad, it's really important."

"Oh Sean," I said, finally recovering from my fit of laughter, "Is that all?" He nodded. I sighed and put a hand under his chin, kissing him softly on the lips. "Sean, my mother and I have lived in that house for as long as I can remember, there's no way she would ever think of moving from it now. I can assure you that she and Archie are still there. They still have Jack to raise, remember?" He nodded and for the first time, I saw a smile spread across his face.

"Thanks Emma, that's all I needed to know." He kissed me and started heading for the car that was parked in front of the building. Suddenly he stopped and turned back to face me. "There is one more thing I wanted to ask you though."

"What's that?" I asked.

"I will get to see you this weekend, right?" I laughed again and nodded.

"Of course you will Sean, I think you've suffered without me long enough." He smiled.

"Good, I was hoping you would say yes." Then he turned on his heel and finished walking to his car. I stood there and watched him climb in, smile at me once more, and drive off. Sean was planning something, I just knew it. What it was, I had no idea.


End file.
